The admirable Dr. Catherine Tan Chan 譚嘉陵and her Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts have done enormous service to the Boston area classical music community over the last 23 years. One of the most valuable and perhaps most unsung examples (at least among general audiences) is the Summer Music Festival at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick. Each summer 40 students from age 14 to whatever are enrolled in an intensive three-week program with a really illustrious faculty. Not only are there private lessons, but also chamber music ensembles, orchestra readings, masterclasses, workshops, and, of most interest to BMInt readers, concerts with faculty members; the public events begin with a piano recital by Yinfei Wang at 7:30 on Thursday, July 31^st. Other concerts we recommend include piano recitals by Hung-Kuan Chen, George Li, Ming-Chieh Liu, Pi-Hsien Chen, and a concerto competition’s winner in recital with Mercury Orchestra at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre. The complete calendar including masterclassess and lectures is here, and the public events are highlighted in BMInt’s “Upcoming Events” as well as on the summary  here.

The impressive faculty members this summer include (alphabetically): Lynn Chang, Music Director. Piano: Tema Blackstone, Bruce Brubaker, Wha-Kyung Byun, Hung-Kuan Chen, Pi-Hsien Chen, Ya-Fei Chuang, Alexander Korsantia,  Meng-Chieh Liu, Victor Rosenbaum, Russell Sherman, Minsoo Sohn, Vivian Weilerstein. Violin: James Buswell, Lynn Chang, Nai-Yuan Hu, Nicholas Kitchen, Donald Weilerstein.  Viola: Scott Lee, Gillian Rogell, Cello: Laurence Lesser, Carol Ou, Sam Ou, Bion Tsang, Clarinet: Thomas Hill, Chamber Music Master Class: Yehudi Wyner, Saxophone: Kenneth Radnofsky,  composition: Yang Yong, Tai Chi: Tai-Chun Pan

The Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, is a non-profit organization registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in January, 1989.  The main objectives of the Foundation are:

To enhance the understanding and the appreciation of Eastern heritage through music and  performing arts.

To promote Chinese music and performing arts through performances.

To provide opportunities and assistance to young artists.